ASEXUAL

REPRODUCTION IN
MICROORGANISMS
BIOLOGY
Class Objective
◦ Recognizing the main types of asexual reproduction that can be found in microorganisms

Topics
- Fision
- Budding
- Sporogenesis
- Fragmentation

Activity: Infography, mental map or conceptual map

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
◦ Is a process by which one cell
produces another identical
organism by itself, without the
fusion of gametes.

◦ It reduces drastically the genetic

variation

◦ It can be found in bacteria,

protozoa, fungi, plants and basal
animals
Fission
◦ One unicelular organism divides into two identical daugther cells
(clones)

◦ It is the Main reproductive strategy used by bacteria

◦ Some protists and unicelular fungi can reproduce by this mechanism

too
FUNGI GENERALITIES ◦ They can be unicelular or pluricelular
◦ They can be microscopic or macroscopic
◦ They can be useful or harmful
◦ Their main role is being decomposers
◦ They can reproduce sexually or asexually
◦ Pluricellular fungi cells form a hypha
◦ Macroscopic fungi hyphae forms a mycelium

Fungus/Fungi

Hypha/hyphae

Mycelium/mycelia
HYPHAE FORMS ◦ Mycelium can be seen at naked eye.

MYCELIUM ◦ The unión of lots of hyphae can créate a

mycelium
FRUITING BODY
Budding
◦ A new thaughter cell is originated from another one, but in this case, the
size of the daughter cell is smaller tan the original organism

◦ The daughter cells are clones of the original ones

◦ Yeasts reproduce this way

Spore formation (Sporogenesis)
◦ A Spore is a structure created to resist
unfavorable conditions

◦ Some fungi produce spores from their

hyphae

◦ Algae and protozoa also can reproduce by

spores

◦ A slightly different type of spores can be

found sin some plants
Fragmentation
◦ Is a Process in which pluricelular
organisms divide to form a new
one

◦ The new organism is a totally

separated and functional being
with identical genetic information

◦ Algae and fungi may reproduce

this way

◦ Some macroscopic organisms such

as basal animals and plants can
also reproduce this way
ACTIVITY
◦ Create a infography or mental or conceptual map in which you include the different types of asexual
reproduction seen for microorganisms

◦ Include:
◦ Groups in which they may be present (bacteria, fungi, algae, protists…)
◦ A short deffinition
◦ A representative image

◦ Use web tols to create it